Stay for Just a Little Longer
by ASiriuslyGleekyTimeLord
Summary: In the aftermath of Hell Night, what will happen to Shane and Reed's relationship when the latter's injuries leave him in a coma?  Based off the fanfic Dalton by CP Coulter.  Rane, quick mention of Jogan and Klaine.


Disclaimer : I do not own any of the characters in this story. A majority of them are owned by Mama CP (CP Coulter for the uninitiated) and come from her fic "Dalton" (if you're not already reading this go do it now you crazy person) and Blaine and Kurt are owned by Ryan Murphy and the creators of Glee. Secondhand Serenade owns the song "Vulnerable" and I would say, listen to it while reading, it will help for effect.

A/N: I was listening to my iPod while walking to class earlier and "Vulnerable" by Secondhand Serenade came on and it just struck me so hard as the perfect song for Shane and Reed once they get reunited after Hell Night, so I just had to write this fic. It's a one-shot unless people want more, or I turn this into a series of one-shots devoted to Rane. If you have any recommendations, throw them out, please leave a review!

Stay for Just a Little Longer

Two weeks. Two weeks, some odd days, hours, minutes and seconds was how long he had been sitting here for. Not that the curly haired boy knew it had been that long, time had seemed to stop for him, or maybe it had just run together into one long eternity. An eternity waiting for this angel of his in the bed to open his eyes and smile at him again. To laugh at him again, to yell at him, anything. He just wanted this hell to be over.

His mother and brother had tried to get him to go, get some rest, eat something, but he refused to leave. Not even Hilde van Kamp had tried to remove Shane from her son's bedside. She had hardly left herself and while the two remained silent most of the time, there was a quiet understanding and comfort that came from knowing that they weren't alone in this.

And then there was Reed's stepbrother, someone who Shane had once feared and worried was there to take his strawberry blonde vision away, but no more. Too many times in the past couple of weeks, Shane had found himself waking after falling asleep without realizing it, only to find a blanket draped across him, one across a restlessly sleeping Hilde, and Clark sitting on the edge of the bed, holding Reed's hand and whispering to him, usually about nothing as though he was trying to act like everything was normal, but the younger Anderson could see the drying tear streaks on his face.

Someone had said something about a funeral and almost everyone had disappeared for a few hours, but Shane had stayed. He didn't know who died, he couldn't comprehend the name that passed his brother's lips, but he knew that once Reed woke up they would both have to deal with that because Reed WAS going to wake up.

Blaine tried to divide his time between his brother and boyfriend, who was being kept in a room just down the hall until his injuries healed, but it wasn't easy for him. His mother tried to help, but even then she had to leave to try and deal with their father, still enraged after what happened, even more so when he heard about everything that had happened after he left.

Nightmares of heat and light, pain and screams, woke Shane one night and he sat up panting, his hand clutching onto Reed's in a fashion that would have been painful if the other boy had been conscious for it. The bandages had been removed from his head a few days ago and Shane had found himself absentmindedly playing with the curls every now and then, not even realizing what he was doing it was so natural. He tried that now, to calm down, but it did nothing.

"_REED_!"

Hearing his own voice in his head was strange, but it also brought tears to his eyes and he had to close them to hold back the flood, biting back the sob that threatened to escape. Hilde and Clark were both sleeping and he didn't want to wake them. Opening his eyes and taking a shuddering breath, he moved closer to the pillow and laid his head down on the mattress, lips just inches from Reed's ear.

"Reed…can you even hear me?" he whispered, reaching up to stroke a finger tenderly down the boy's cheek. "Do you even know I'm here, that any of us are here?" The only response he got was the steady beeping from the heart monitor. Shane was just happy that the small boy didn't need a ventilator; he never would have been able to stand seeing him like that. Sighing into the quiet he held onto the tiny hand in his tightly. "Please come back Reed…I can't keep doing this, I just found you, don't let me lose you now please. I need you, I need you so much that it hurts and I don't know what to do." His whispers were broken sobs in the darkness and tears were beginning to soak through the sheets of the mattress. "Please Reed…just open your eyes and let me know you're still there…"

He watched for any sign of life or response, but when he got none he just closed his eyes and let the sobs wrack his body. And for some reason, a song popped into his head, one he had heard a while back but had been caught in there, waiting for the right moment or something. Taking a deep shuddering breath, he let his fingers toy with the curls and sang softly.

_Share with me the blankets that you're wrapped in_

_Because it's cold outside_

_It's cold outside_

_Share with me the secrets that you've kept in_

_Because it's cold inside_

_It's cold inside_

There had been so many times since they had been here that he just wanted to crawl into bed next to Reed and feel that warmth, know that his body was warm and working, that blood was still being pumped through his veins just by touch and not because he saw it. Because sometimes sight wasn't enough. It wasn't physical. It was there, but it didn't mean anything. Shane had never been a visual learner to begin with.

_And you're slow shaking fingertips show_

_That you're scared like me so_

_Let's pretend we're alone_

_And I know you may be scared_

_And I know we're unprepared_

_But I don't care_

"Reed…Neither one of us knows what love is for sure, I know that, and I know that scares you. It scares me too. But we can't let that get us down, we can't let that stop us, and as long as you're by my side, I never will."

_So tell me tell me what makes you think that you are invincible_

_I can see it in your eyes that you're so sure_

_Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's vulnerable_

_Impossible_

"Seeing you lying here like this is killing me. You're sleeping, but you don't know what we're going through, what your mom and Clark and I are going through. The twins have been in here every day to see if their Dormouse has woken up. Even Jules and Logan have popped in from time to time. We all need you Reed. Please Reed, just wake up and tell me that you need me too…please."

_I was born to tell you I love_

_Isn't that a song already_

_I get a B in originality_

_And it's true I can't go on without you_

_Your smile makes me see clearer_

_If you could only see in the mirror what I see_

"I can't see myself going on after this if you don't wake up. I won't leave this hospital room until you do, I won't leave your side…and if…if you…I can't see myself going on. And that scares me because I never thought that I would meet someone as important and precious to me as you are. You worked your way in and now you're my whole world and the fact that you don't understand why is just unbearable sometimes. You're so special Reed, I just wish you knew how special you are.

_And you're slow shaking fingertips show_

_That you're scared like me so_

_Let's pretend we're alone_

_And I know you may be scared_

_And I know we're unprepared_

_But I don't care_

There was a gentle weight around his hand and Shane just couldn't place what it was. "Reed I love you. Can you see it in the way I look at you? Can you see just how much I need you? Because I do and life without you…I don't want that anymore. I can't go back to that."

_Tell me tell me what makes you think that you are invincible_

_I can see it in your eyes that you're so sure_

_Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's vulnerable_

_Impossible_

"But you have to wake up. You can't let that monster destroy you like this. Please, wake up and come back to me. Just come back…I need you to come back because I love you. I love you so much and I just want to be with you for the rest of my life, for the rest of eternity if possible."

_Slow down girl_

_You're not going anywhere_

_Just wait around and see_

_Maybe I'm much more_

_You never know what lies ahead_

_I promise I can be anyone_

_I can be anything_

_Just because you were hurt doesn't mean you shouldn't bleed_

_I can be anyone, anything_

_I promise I can be what you need_

The weight was there again and when he looked down he could see the fingers flexing in his. His eyes widened as he sat up somewhat, eyes darting to the angelic face in front of him. "Reed?" There was another flex and now Shane could see eyes darting back and forth under the closed eyelids. "Reed come on," he whispered, "that's it; I know you can do it." A tiny moan was his answer. "Clark!" Shane hissed over his shoulder, waking the actor.

"What? What is it?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, the blanket covering him falling to the floor.

"I think he's waking up. Can you get a nurse?" There was no answer, just the door opening and closing as Clark took off down the hall. "Reed, come on baby, open your eyes."

"…tired…" the single word was slurred and almost too quiet for him to hear, but he did and it was the most wonderful thing he had ever heard in his life.

"I know you are Reed, you've been asleep for a while, but it's time to wake up now," Shane whispered, his fingers carding through Reed's hair as the boy became more responsive and Hilde began to stir on the opposite side of the bed.

With what seemed to be an almost impossible effort, those eyelashes fluttered open and Shane cried out in relief as Clark returned with a nurse and Reed's mother woke and screamed her son's name when she saw he was awake.

Tests were done through the rest of the night and on into the early morning to see how Reed was doing and when they were allowed back in to see him, Hilde asked that Shane wait outside so that she and Clark could see the boy first. Reluctantly he nodded, knowing there was no real choice, and ended up pacing back and forth in the hall just outside the door.

"Shane?" Blaine called, running up and gripping his brother by the shoulders. "I heard, is it true?" he asked in a pant.

"Yeah, he's…he's awake and it looks like he's going to be okay. Hilde and Clark are in there with him right now." Shane was light headed, he hoped from relief, but when he sagged against his brother thought otherwise.

"Hey, I've got you," the older Anderson whispered, lowering both of them to the floor. "I've got you, it's okay." He ran his fingers through his brother's hair, trying to comfort him as he did when Jude died, and when Micah had been thrown from the house. Shane was sobbing into his Blaine's shirt without knowing why, Reed was awake, he shouldn't be upset; he should be celebrating, dancing around and partying and cheering to the heavens.

"Blaine, is your brother okay?" Marlene Anderson asked as she walked up to both of her boys, crouching down next to them and resting a hand on her youngest son's shoulder. "Shane, sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"I think he's just a little overwhelmed. Reed woke up so everything should be fine, but you know how he's been lately; I think he's just over exhausted himself."

"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," Shane muttered as he pulled away, wiping his eyes shakily. "I'm fine, promise."

"Shane, I think it might be a good idea if you lay down for a while," his mother said gently as she ran her hand up and down his arm in a soothing motion. "After all, you'll want to be at the top of your game when you see Reed, right?"

"Mom, I'm fine," he reiterated, but the yawn that escaped him argued the opposite. She smiled and knelt down; moving closer to him and gently pulled him into her arms, continuing with the motions. Shane felt at peace in her arms, the perfume that she always wore surrounding him like a comforting embrace.

"I know you are baby, I know," she whispered, kissing the side of his head and shifting a little so he was almost cradled in her lap. His head came to rest heavily in the crook of her neck as his eyes fluttered shut. He let out a sigh contentment which turned into another yawn. "Just go to sleep my baby."

He began to drift and feeling himself being pulled away from his mother's comforting warmth let out a low moan. "It's okay Shane," her voice whispered as though through a fog. "We're just going to let you sleep some place a little more comfortable."

"Don't…drop me hobbit…" he mumbled and felt a rumble from the firm surface that had become his pillow.

"Be glad you're half asleep or I'd make you pay for that one," Blaine said quietly. The rocking motion as his older brother walked down the hall helped lull him and he couldn't help the hum of joy he let out when he was laid down on a soft surface. He could feel a blanket be draped over him and then there was a dip on the side of his bed or whatever it was. The last thing he felt was the gentle feel of his mother's fingers in his hair.

"Just go to sleep now honey," she whispered and he did.

He wasn't sure how much later it was when he started to resurface in the conscious world, but Shane felt more comfortable then he believed he ever had. He was warm and the bed was soft, and there were fingers in his hair, but he could tell that they weren't his mother's and his face scrunched up in a frown.

"You don't like it when I do that?" a tired voice asked, but there was a laugh in it. He recognized it, but couldn't quite place it and just let out a quiet murmur, leaning into the touch. "That's what I thought. You don't look much better than me at this point you know, and that's not what I wanted to wake up to."

Letting out another murmur, Shane opened his eyes and was met by Reed van Kamp's gaze smiling down at him. "Reed?" the younger boy asked confused as he tried to sit up but Reed's hand on his shoulder kept him down. "What…I thought…how did I get in here?"

"You were sleeping in the family room on the couch, but I wanted to see you so bad I couldn't wait. Clark carried you, said you slept like a baby the whole time. Don't blame you, you look exhausted Shane." Even tired himself and in pain, a minimal amount but enough to be uncomfortable, Reed was able to sound like he was scolding his boyfriend.

"Bad dreams," Shane whispered in response before leaning in and pressing his lips against the strawberry blonde's. The shorter of the two let out a happy sigh and leaned into the kiss, his hand tangling itself in Shane's curls. It was gentle and tender and exactly what both of them needed at that point. When they pulled apart Shane was smiling at his boyfriend, stroking Reed's cheek with his thumb. "You were asleep for so long…what did you dream about?" he asked and Reed couldn't help but smile and let out a small laugh at the corniness of it.

"You. I love you too, you and all the crazy that comes along with the deal," he whispered, smiling up at Shane. "There's no way I'm leaving you yet, don't worry about it."

From out in the hall two mothers and two brothers were watching their loved ones closely, but left to give them privacy once both boys had settled down and somehow drifted back to sleep, wrapped in each other's arms.

_Tell me tell me what makes you think that you are invincible_

_I can see it in your eyes that you're so sure_

_Please don't tell me that I'm the only one that's vulnerable_

_Impossible…_


End file.
